The deadly Covid-19 virus has hit the first home for the elderly in Grenada.
According to well-placed sources, three of the residents at the Catholic-run Hilarion Home for the elderly at Mt. Rodney in St. Patrick have tested positive for the virus.
One source who asked not to be named said that two workers at the same home also tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days.
He said that fingers are pointing at the workers for the spread of the virus at the old people’s home as many of them are refusing to get vaccinated for the virus which has now affected well over 1,000 persons in Grenada since it was first detected in March 2020.
The Roman Catholic Bishop in Grenada, Clyde Harvey, has been in discussion with the Management of the home in recent weeks to put in place a number of guidelines to follow including the wearing of masks and sanitising of hands on a regular basis.
He told THE NEW TODAY that the Management had put systems in place including an order for no visitors to enter the home but the staff is creating problems.
“The staff don’t want to be vaccinated,” he remarked.
The source also indicated that the children of some of the elderly people in the home are also putting up resistance saying that they are against their parents getting vaccinated for Covid-19.
He said the Catholic Bishop will most likely hold discussions with the home today on the way forward in light of the positive virus cases among the residents and staffers.
Another source close to another Home for the elderly confirmed that the staff are refusing to take the vaccine.
THE NEW TODAY cannot independently confirm reports that Hillsview Home for the elderly, another Catholic-controlled facility in Gouyave, St John is also affected by Covid-19.
Health Minister Steele admitted today that “deaths and positive cases are doubling exponentially” in Grenada in recent days as community spread of the virus has now been officially declared on the island.
He disclosed that a baby under the age of 12 months has been among the latest Covid-19 deaths in the country.